Snowy morning forecast Friday with more gusty winds

Old Man Winter isn't giving up any ground yet in the Buffalo Niagara region.

More cold, snow and wind is in today's forecast thanks to another passing storm system just north of the region. The National Weather Service said that today's snow squalls could affect the morning rush hour.

About 2 inches of snow is possible in metro Buffalo by early afternoon with more in the higher elevations of the region.

Weather service forecasters said stronger bursts of snow squalls could coat road surfaces, but most of the accumulation will likely be concentrated on grassy areas and elevated surfaces.

Southwest winds are also forecast to increase during the morning and could gust over 50 mph again during the midafternoon through early evening, the weather service said. The weather service posted a wind advisory from noon to 11 p.m. for all of Western New York, except Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.

"Gusty winds will result in a few small tree limbs coming down and isolated power outages," the weather service said. "Travel in high-profile vehicles will be difficult at times."

On Wednesday, gusts over 60 mph knocked down trees and cut power out to thousands of area residents. It also pushed substantial ice floes over the Niagara River ice boom and resulted in shoreline flooding around Canalside and along the river.

Forecasts show gusty winds will continue overnight Friday with gusts over 40 mph at times.

There's chances for more snow showers with new snow accumulations of less than one-half inch in metro Buffalo.

Overnight lows will be in the mid-20s, with wind chills as low as 12 degrees, the weather service said.

Some lake-effect snow is also expected across portions of the Southern Tier into the weekend, forecasters said. Accumulations shouldn't be significant because the flow over Lake Erie isn't expected to generate enough fetch off of the lake to generate heavy snow squalls, forecasters said.

The weekend looks to remain well below-normal for temperature regionwide. For metro Buffalo, Saturday is forecast to bring mostly cloudy skies with highs in the mid-30s.

There's a 30 percent chance for snow showers on Sunday, the weather service said. Otherwise, it'll be partly sunny with highs in the mid-30s.

The average high temperature in Buffalo for this time of year is in the low 50s.

The unseasonable April chill is expected to also linger into next week with a chance for a warmup back to normal conditions by late week, forecasts show.

T.J. Pignataro – T.J. Pignataro has been a staff reporter for The Buffalo News for more than 20 years and the environment and weather reporter since 2013. He holds a juris doctor degree from SUNY Buffalo Law School.